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Xiaomi tops Indian wearable market despite 11% shipments decline

Chinese electronics company Xiaomi maintained its leadership in the market for the 5th consecutive quarter with 41 percent market share in 2018Q3, as per the new report by International Data Corp (IDC).

The newly launched Mi band 3 became the most shipped wearable product ever in the history of wearables in India, IDC said.

While, GOQii continues to hold the second position with a healthy 47 percent year-over-year growth and 19 percent market share in Q3 in 2018, showed the report.

It remains the leading player in the commercial segment, as two-thirds of its shipments are billed to enterprises under the corporate wellness program, report further said.

Xiaomi and GOQii are followed by Titan, Samsung, and Fossil in terms of market share.

However, the overall shipments declined 11 percent from the previous quarter largely because of the double-digit decline in the basic wearables. Wearables companies had procured a high inventory of basic wearables, mostly on wristbands in the 2018Q2, which they cleared in the initial months of the third quarter.

"It is too early to say that the India wearables market has started moving towards the smart wearables. However, vendors have started analyzing the big pricing gaps between the basic and smart wearables," said Jaipal Singh, Associate Research Manager, Client Devices, IDC India.

He further adds, "While vendors need to identify a new pricing sweet spot for smartwatches, the next challenge is to address the positioning of watches which is still seen as a vanity product in India. Also, many vendors haven't explored the kid segment which can be a volume driver for this category as they are more comfortable with technology and new products."

"The overall wearable market is expected to continue its double-digit growth in 2019. While the growth of basic wearables will slow down as users look at upgrading to smarter wearable products," said Navkendar Singh, Associate Research Director, Client Devices & IPDS, IDC India

He also said it will remain the dominant category in India for the next few years. We will see a few more smartwatches with cellular connectivity and also vendors will be looking to explore some of the new categories to provide solutions around healthcare and lifestyle management."